Force-feed stacker.



Patented Nov. 19, |90L n. c. BEDPATH & n. A. SEYLER, m.

FORCE FEED STACKER. (Application filed Jan. 19, 1901 3 Sheets-Sheet I (N0 Model.)

JAN

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Patented NovQIQ, 1901. B. c. REDPATH & n. A. SEYLER, 18.

FORCE FEED STACKER. (Application filed Jan. 19, 1901.1

' 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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No. 686,953. Patented Nov. I9, 190i. R. C. BEDPATH &. D. A. SEYLER, 1R.

FORCE FEED'STACKER.

(Application filed Jan. 19, 1901.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

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RdiiegnaZ/z I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT C. REDPATII, OF MORSE, KANSAS, AND DANIEL A. SEYLER, JR, OF

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN.

FORCE-FEED STACKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 686,953, dated November 19, 1901. Application filed January 19, 1901. Serial No. 43.907. (N model) To 0% whom it may concern:

Beitknown that we, ROBERT C. REDPATH, a resident of Morse, Johnson county, Kansas, and DANIEL A. SEYLER, Jr., a resident of Ann Arbor, WVashtenaw county, Michigan, citizens of the United States, have invented a new and useful Force-Feed Stacker, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to force-feed stackro ers; and our object is to produce a structure to form an integral part of a separator or to be constructed as an attachment for use with any of the approved types of separators which will enable the person in control to deposit :5 the straw exactly at the point desired irrespective of all adverse conditions-such, for instance, as a very strong wind, which always interferes more or less when operating with a pneumatic stacker orone constructed on the endless-elevator principle.

A further object is to produce a stacker which embodies the desirable features of simplicity, strength, and durability of construction.

Vith these general objects in view the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that it maybe fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a rear elevation of a force-feed stacker embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of the same 3 5 with the bottom broken away to disclose the interior construction. Fig. 3 is a side View of the same. Fig. lis a horizontal section of the packer, taken on the line IV IV of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a side elevation, partly in section,

0 of the tube to show the feeder mechanism to assist the plunger in the discharge of the straw. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section, on a smaller scale, to show the telescopic construction of the tube for discharging the straw at the desired point.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, 1 designates the rear end of a separator of the usual or any preferred construction and provided with the customary rack 2 to discharge 5o straw in the usual manner, and the usual tailing-rack 3 to discharge chaff from the tailings, though it is to be understood that the invention is designed for attachment to any of the approved types of separators and is susceptible of such changes in the form, proportion, detail construction, and arrangement of the parts as shall be necessary to adapt it for use with a particular machine, the principle of construction being the same in all cases.

4 designates a box of the form shown or of any suitable type to form when in place a rear-end extension for the separator, being secured to the latter in any suitable or'pre ferred manner. This box is provided, preferablyat its lower front corner, with a transverse passage 5, extending from side to side and preferably having one end projecting beyond the corresponding side of the box, and its rear wall or side formed with an opening 6, for a purpose which hereinafter appears.

7 designates openings (only one of which appears) in the side walls of the box, which are of suitable height and preferably occupy in wid th practically the full distance between the rear wall of the box and the rear wall of the passage, and adapted to swing inwardly and outwardly through said openings are a pair of condensers 8, pivotally suspended at their upper ends from bearings 9, secured to the side walls of the box. To secure synchronous inward and outward movement of said condensers, they are provided at their outer edges with depending slotted brackets 10, in which operate rollers 11, mounted on links 12, which underlie the box and are pivoted at their opposite ends to the lever 13 at opposite sides of and equal distances from the fulcrum-point of said lever, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, the links being engaged by 0 and retained in operative relation to the slotted brackets 10 by means of taps 14 at opposite sides of the brackets, as shown clearly. This connection permits the links to operate practically in the horizontal position shown without interfering with the rise and fall of the slotted brackets as the condensers swing outward orinward. (See dotted and full lines, Fig. 1.)

To impart movement to lever 13, we pref- I00 erably provide the latter with the longitudinal slot 15, wherein is mounted a sliding pivotpin 16, carried at the inner end of a horizontal pnll-an'd-push bar 17, projecting beyond the same side of the box as and centrally below the passage hereinbefore described, and having a pin-and-slot connection, as at 18, with the walking-beam 19, fulcrumed on a bracket 20, secured to the box. Said walking-beam operates transversely of the box in a vertical plane and has its upper end pivotally connected by a link 21 to the crank-arm 22 of a shaft 23, journaled in bearings 24, secured by preference to the top of the separator. Upon said shaft is mounteda bevel-gear 25, driven by an intermeshing beyel-pinion 26 upon the inner end of transverse shaft 27, also journaled in bearings 28, mounted upon the separator by preference, the outer end of said shaft carrying a belt-pulley 29, which is adapted to be connected by a belt (not shown) to the threshing cylinder or other motive power. Thus it will be seen that motion imparted to said pulley will through the instrumentalities described result in the movement of the condensers alternately inward and outward, both moving inward together to condense the straw as discharged from the separator adjacent to the openingin the rear wall of the passage. For the purpose of forcing the condensed charge ofstraw through said opening into the passage we provide the following mechanism: I

30 designates a horizontal rod journaled in boxings secured externally to the rear wall of the box, and 31 a frame suspended from said rod, provided with a slotted bracket 32, depending centrally from its lower end. The packer proper consists of the body portion and the inwardly-projecting arms 34, said arms projecting through vertical slots 35 in the back wall of the box. The packer is pivoted to the swinging frame, as at 36, so as to operate independently of said frame in a vertical plane, and thereby adapt itself to the formation of the bottom of the box between the condensers, the lower front ends of the arms being preferably mounted upon rollers, as at .37, so that the packer will reciprocate back and forth in the box with the minimum of friction.

The mechanism for effecting the proper action of the packer consists of a longitudinal pull-rod 38, underlying the box, and the links 12, hereinbefore described, and guided to reciprocate in a direct longitudinal plane by a guide-bracket 39, depending from the box, the rear end of the pull-rod extending loosely through the slotted bracket 32 of the swinging frame and having collars or enlargements at opposite sides of said bracket to bear against the bracket and force the frame backward and forward, as the case may be. The forward end of said rod has a pin-and-slot connection, as at 41, with a long arm 42 of a bell-crank lever, said lever being fulcrumed, as at 43, preferably to the under side of the lateral extension of the passage, as shown. The short arm 44 of said bell-crank lever is provided with a slot 45, engaging a vertical pin 46, which pin occupies loosely a longitudinal slot 47 in the pull-and-push bar 17, the arrangement being such that as said pushbar moves inward and returns the condensers to their outward position it shall move the full length of said slot before the outer end of the latter engages the pin 46, by which time the condensers have almost attained.

their outermost limit of movement. Oontinued inward movement of the push-bar throws the bell-crank lever outward from the position shown in fnlllines, Figs. 2 and 3,to the position shown in dotted lines, same figures, the packer attaining its rearmost limit of motion at the same instant that the more-slowlymoving condensers reach the outermost point of their travel. As the pull-and-push bar reverses its operation it will be noticed that it will at the same time start the condensers inward, but that it will not affect the position of the packer until the length of said slot has been traversed, when the opposite end of the slot, coming in contact with the pin 46, will throw the packer quickly forward and force the charge of straw through the opening 6 of and into the passage. To force the charge of straw through the passage and into the registering end of a tube 48, secured to the box, the particular description of which tube follows later, we provide a reciprocatory plunger 49, the same conforming to and adapted to operate in the passage, and said plunger is provided with an arm 50, having a pinand-slot connection, as at 51, with the walking-beam 19, so that'as the lower end of the latter swings toward the machine the plunger will be advanced in the passage and force the condensed charge of straw therethrough toward the opposite side of the machine in an obvious manner.

The tube which receives the straw consists of a vertical elbow 52, a vertical portion 53, registering normally with said elbow and hinged, as at 54, to the box, and an upper portion 55, adapted to discharge the straw at. the desired point, and therefore of substantially the same construction as the tubes now used inwhat are known as pneumatic or wind stackers, the upper portion of this tube being arranged so as to accommodate the growing height and discharge the straw at any desired point along the length of the tube, and in order to facilitate the discharge of the straw the tubes forming the upper tube-section fit telescopically together and are of gradually-increasing diameter toward their discharge ends. (See Fig. 6.) The lower end of the hinged tube-section 53 is normally held in place by means of hooks 52, pivoted to the machine and engaging the loops 52 of said section. This section is provided to swing aside and give the operator access to the tube at an intermediate point, and thus enable him to clear it of straw after the threshing and stacking operations ar completed.

56 designates a series of segment-shaped tubes fitting and pivoted to fold together like the blades of a fan and adapted to operate or swing on the shaft 57, suitably supported, the straight portion 58 of the tube being rigidly attached to the uppermost section 56, while the lowest segment is adapted to have a swivel or rotatable action upon the upper end of the permanent tube-section 59, connecting said segment with the hinged tubesection 53.

To insure that the straw passes properly through the tubes, and particularly for facili tating its progress at the bending-points, we provide reciprocatory feeders, as follows:

6O designates a pair of rings fitting loosely on the tube-section 53 and connected by a rod 61, suitably guided, said rod having a forked lower end embracing an eccentric 62 upon the same shaft as a pulley 63, driven by a suitable belt 64, said eccentric alternately raising and lowering the rings, and therefore imparting reciprocatory movement to the feeder 65, extending down and into the elbow 52, and also to the companion feeder 66, said feeders having arms 67, projecting through slots 68 of the tube and connected to said rings. A pair of feeders 69 70, of precisely the same construction as those already referred to, are fitted in the tube-section 58, one of them projecting into the segmental elbow to assist the straw in its passage therethrough, and said feeders are provided with arms 71, projecting through slots 72 and engaging a collar 73, and said collar is connected by a link or links 74 to one arm of a bell-crank lever 75, pivoted on shaft 57, the other arm being pivotally connected to a sleeve 76, mounted slidingly on the topmost ring 60, hereinbefore described, so that the movement of rods 61 imparted by the eccentric shall cause the feeders 69 70 to reciprocate at right angles to feeders 66. To distribute the straw at different points along the stack, the entire upper portion of the tube rotates, this action taking-place without interfering with the reciprocatory action of the feeders, because sleeve 76 slides around in the proper direction on' said ring 60. When the upper portion of the tube is elevated to accommodate the growing height of the stack, it is effected in a manner and by means well known in wind-stacker constructions, the feeder in said upper portion, however, moving relatively forward therein, owing to the fact that the bell-crank is practically stationary and the length of the rigid link 74 between the bell-crank and ring 73 must be accommodated. This forward adjustment of said feeding mechanism will practically Withdraw said feeder out of the upper elbow; but this is not objectionable, because the bend therein will be largely eliminated, and thereby permit the straw to pass through with less friction.

The general operation, briefly stated, is as follows: The straw is discharged from the thresher opposite the opening 6 and is con- -through the tube. is caught by the feeders 65, one of which pref-' densed at such point and then forced into the passage by the packer, the plunger immediately thereafter advancing and forcing the condensed charge inward. This operation of the plunger being repeated on each charge of straw forced into the passage, the result is that the straw is forced in a continuous stream up As it enters the latter it erably projects down into the elbow 52 in order to facilitate the passage of the straw at a point where there is a possibility of it choking. The feeders 65 therefore act to pull up- Wat-(11y upon the straw and assist the plunger in forcing it through the tube. As the straw passes around the bend composed of segmental tube-sections 56 it is caught by the reciprocatory feeder 69 projecting therein, which therefore assists the plunger and the lower feeders in carrying it past the second bent portion of the tube. It is then engaged by the second feeder 70, which cooperates in such action. When the operation is at an end, the straw in the portion of the tube ad jacent to the machine can be easily extracted by swinging the tube-section 53 to the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, and after it is extracted from the upper portion the latter can be shortened by folding said sections back one upon another, and in this connection it will be noticed that as that portion of the tube above the hinged section oscillates in a well-known manner the operation of the feeders 65, 69, and 70 continues, because the sleeve 76, to which the bell-crank 75 is pivoted, slides back and forth upon the upper ring 60, embracing said pivoted section, it being understood of course that when said hinged section is swung outward the bell-crank lever is disengaged from the sleeve or one of the links 74 may be detached from its connection, if preferred- From the above description it will be apparent that we have produced a force-feed stacker embodying the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of invention, and while we have illustrated and described the preferred construction it is to be understood that we do not confine ourselves to the particular form, arrangement, detail construction, or proportion of the parts as shown.

Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A force-feed stacker, embodying a passage, a tube registering with the discharge end of the passage, and comprising a lower stationary portion, an upper portion and'an intermediate portion hinged at its upper end and hooked to the machine at its lower end, and means for forcing straw through the passage and said tube,substantially as described.

2. A force-feed stacker, embodying a passage open between its ends, a tube registering at one end with the discharge end of the passage, and of increasing diameter from such end to its outer end, means to force straw into the passage through the opening thereof, and means for forcing said straw registering with the discharge end of the passage, means to force straw into the passage through the opening thereof, and a reciprocatory plunger to force the straw throu gh the passage and said tube.

4. A force-feed stacker, embodying a passage open between its ends, a tube registering with the discharge end of the passage, a swinging packer to force straw through said opening into said passage, and means for forcing the straw through the passage and said tube.

5. A force-feed stacker, embodying a passage open between its ends, a tube registering with the discharge end of the passage, a swinging packer to force straw through said openinginto said passage, and a reciprocatory plunger operating in the passage to force the straw therethrough and through the tube.

6; A force-feed stacker, embodying a passage open between its ends, a tube register-' ing with the discharge end of the passage, means for condensing straw opposite said opening, means for forcing such condensed straw through said opening into said passage, and means for forcing such straw through the passage and said tube.

7. A force-feed stacker, embodying a passage open between its ends, a tube registering at one end with the discharge end of said passage, a pair of pivoted condensers to synchronously swing inward and condense straw between them opposite said opening, means to force such condensed charge through the opening into the passage, and means for forcing such straw through the passage and said tube.

8. A force-feed stacker, embodying a passage open between its ends, a tube registering with the discharge end of the same, means to condense straw opposite said opening, a pivoted packer to force such condensed charge through said opening into the passage, and means to force such straw through the passage and said tube.

9. A force-feed stacker, comprising a box to receive loose straw, and provided with a passage open between its ends, a tube registerin g with the discharge end of the same, condensers to condense the straw opposite said opening, a packer to force the condensed charge through said opening into the passage, and means for forcing such straw through the passage and said tube.

10. In aforce-feed stacker, the combination with a separator, of a box to receive the straw, provided at its lower front corner with a transverse passage open between its ends, a tube registering with the discharge end of the same, condensers for condensing the loose straw 0pposite said opening, a packer to force the condensed charge through said opening into the passage, a reciprocatory plunger to operate in said passage and force straw therethrough and through the tube, a driven shaft, and instrumentalities for transmitting motion from the shaft to the plunger and to said condensers and packer. 11. A force-feed stacker, embodying a passage,a tube registering with the discharge end of the passage, a plunger for forcing straw through the passage and said tube, and a reciprocatory feeder or feeders within the tube for assisting the plunger in forcing the straw through said tube, substantially as described. 12. In a force-feed stacker, a tube to receive the straw and discharge it at the desired point, said tube comprising avertical portion, an upper portion, a telescopic or flexible elbowjournaled on the vertical portion and connecting the same to the upper portion, reciprocatory feeders in the vertical and upper portions, rings externally embracing the vertical and upper portions and connected to the feeders proper, means to reciprocate the rings upon the vertical portion, a sleeve slidable on one of said rings, a bell-crank lever suitably mounted and having one arm pivoted to said sleeve, and a link pivotally connecting the other arm of the bell-crank lever with one of the rings of the upper tube-section, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT (J. REDPATH. DANIEL A. SEYLER, JR.

Witnesses:

H. O. RODGERS, G. Y. THORPE. 

